Rate Performance of Adaptive Link Selection in Buffer-Aided Cognitive Relay Networks

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the rate performance of an adaptive link selection scheme in buffer-aided cognitive relay networks, highlighting its advantages over conventional schemes under power and interference constraints.

Contribution

It derives analytical expressions for the rate performance of the ALSBR scheme and compares it with traditional relay schemes in cognitive radio settings.

Findings

Buffered relays with adaptive link selection outperform unbuffered and conventional buffered relays.

The derived expressions match well with simulation results.

Adaptive link selection is especially beneficial in underlay cognitive radio networks.

Abstract

We investigate the performance of a two-hop cognitive relay network with a buffered decode and forward (DF) relay. We derive expressions for the rate performance of an adaptive link selection-based buffered relay (ALSBR) scheme with peak power and peak interference constraints on the secondary nodes, and compare its performance with that of conventional unbuffered relay (CUBR) and conventional buffered relay (CBR) schemes. Use of buffered relays with adaptive link selection is shown to be particularly advantageous in underlay cognitive radio networks. The insights developed are of significance to system designers since cognitive radio frameworks are being explored for use in 5G systems. Computer simulation results are presented to demonstrate accuracy of the derived expressions.